Croque Monsieur

A Croque Monsieur is a French bistro sandwich that is a wonderful way to dress up a ham and cheese sandwich. If you add a fried egg on top of each of these sandwiches the sandwich then becomes a Croque Madame.

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• A pinch each of salt, freshly ground pepper, nutmeg, or more to taste
• 8 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8 slices of firm white bread
• 8 ounces Black Forest ham (or any good quality deli ham), sliced
• Dijon mustard

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°F.
• Béchamel Sauce- Melt the butter in a small saucepan on medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Watch closely as you do not want the butter to brown.Stirring continuously, add the flour and cook about two minutes. Slowly add the milk, stirring continuously, cooking until thick. Remove from heat. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in the Parmesan and 1/4 cup of the grated Gruyère. Set aside.
• Assemble the “Croque”
  • Toast bread lightly either in a toaster oven or in the oven.
  • Spread a very thin layer of mustard on half the slices of tast. Top with the slices of ham and Gruyère cheese (reserve about ½ cup of the cheese to top the sandwiches before broiling) . Top with the other toasted bread slices.

Place the sandwiches, your very own croque monsieur sandwiches,  on a cookie sheet which has been covered in foil. Spoon the béchamel sauce on top of the sandwiches. Sprinkle with the remaining Gruyère cheese. Bake in the oven for 5 minutes, then turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 to 5 minutes, until the cheese topping is bubbly and lightly browned.

Serve immediately with a cup of Soup à l’Oignon and you have a satisfying winter meal.

Makes 4 sandwiches.